Part II: The Fires of the Forge
Chapter 1: The Weapon of Mass Destruction
Six decades passed as I formulated my plans – I realize that timeframe seems like a lifetime to you, but to me it was but the blink of an eye. It’s not like I wasn’t doing anything – during this time I built a good foundation for my work – I always say ‘build your house on stone and it’ll be strong as a bone, but build it on sand and it’ll ruin your plan.’
I wanted my new war to be different from those mundane affairs of the past. Unlike the skirmishes and petty wars of the past, this war needed to be a cataclysmic event, one that would be remembered for millennia. I wanted it to be legendary!
As everyone knows, the first step in any legendary war is to make some really awesome weapons – or in this case one really awesome weapon. The weapon I envisioned would not just bring destruction; it would reshape the very fabric of our world, leaving an indelible mark on history. Let’s call it a Weapon of Mass Destruction, shall we?
Could I have made the weapon I wanted to start the war with myself? Obviously. After all, I can do a lot of things well, but I’m also very busy. It takes time trying to become the Master of the Universe when you’re still rising through the ranks, so if I can get someone else to do my work for me I’m all for it. Delegate Smart – yup that’s the secret to accomplishing a lot of things at once.
It just so happens that during this time I discovered a fellow named Hef Fastuz – a descendant of the Busz family. Like the Naves, the Busz clan was one of those old turncoat families of the Drokka who formerly served as overseers for the Derkka slave masters and had gone on to acquire wealth and prestige for themselves. After ‘escaping’ captivity with the rest of the Drokka, the Busz’ discovered their true niche by helping their fellow elites covertly partner with their peers on the Derkka side to create a military industrial complex from the war machine my Rhokki alter ego inspired them to build.
The Busz family used their influence to found the Drokka region of Kel-de-Kaba – one of the eight major kingdoms of the Drokka world and the de facto military empire of their people. Over the years, more Kon-Herrs came from their line than any other clan. In short the Busz’ were one of the power players of the Drokka society.
Why does this matter for our story? Because anything related to war ran through the Busz family and the region of Kel-de-Kaba became famous for the high quality weapons that were forged there.
Countless Drokka armies saw their men furnished with weapons from Kel-de-Kaba and thus the Busz family made vast sums of money from all the wars I inspired their people to undertake over the years – money flowed from the taxes paid by the common people to the king’s treasury and then to Kel-de-Kaba for weapons for the army – making the Busz rich in the process. Yet the Busz were smart enough to realize there were two sides to every coin and thus they made secret deals with the Derkka Parliament (and other various other powerful kingdoms throughout TerrVerde) to supply the Drokka’s enemies with arms as well – after all, the better the equipment both sides’ armies have the longer a war can last right? And since war is good for business, the Busz’ wanted to make sure it lasted as long as possible! Well done, friends, well done!
Which brings me back to Hef Fastuz – although he was a descendant of the Busz line via the Fastuz branch, Hef was a bit of an outcast from his family. But that didn’t stop him from being the perfect puzzle piece for me. Why? First off, at the most basic level Hef was a Drokka – OK, I realize that’s not saying much but hey this was the group of people who I wanted to start my war, so there’s that. Secondly Hef was a weaponsmith – and I needed someone to delegate my weapon of mass destruction task to. And third, well Hef was available at the time when I needed to employ somebody – which just goes to show you that things have a way of working out for me at just the right time even when I’m not trying all that hard. [Hey, when you’re good, you’re good, right?]
Now luckily for me this Hef Fastuz chap wasn’t just some run of the mill sword-making hack. As it turned out, Hef Fastuz was the preeminent arms maker of his day or any other. This was rather interesting since the Drokka of this time period hadn’t fought in a real war in decades (which is another story I’ll get to in a bit), but for now know this – in spite of there not being any wars to use his crafts on, Hef Fastuz was a master nonetheless. Perhaps it was just something in his Busz blood that kept the avarice for war going for Hef? Who knows. Luckily for him, mankind (even during times of peace) has always valued weapons of destruction and Hef’s were the best of the best.
Hef Fastuz had something else going for him – as is so often the case, when a true master pursues his craft out of the sheer love of it, the ‘art’ he produces finds a way of emerging to the world. And Hef Fastuz was the undisputed master of all masters when it came to the trade of arms-making. Be it bronze, iron, steel, silver or any other metal, Hef could smelt, forge, and shape it. Be it diamond, jade, blood ruby or rhokiium, Hef could find a way to utilize a gem’s best quality to not only adorn the treasure, but also to use it to increase the actual effectiveness of the weapon. Be it flint, slate, obsidian or adamas, Hef could efficiently incorporate stone into his work as well. Although he was not a carpenter, Hef had the knowledge of what types of wood worked best for different uses within his own craft too. And lest it not be forgotten, he was a master of the decorative arts – etching, enameling, inlaying, casting, damascening, and gilding – all these and more were within his power to employ.
In the past, Hef had skillfully produced a multitude of master-crafted items – from a golden longsword whose curved hilt of jade had been fashioned into the shape of a great bear and whose blade had been damascened in silver all down its length with Drokka runes of Nort that read “With Rhokii’s Might” on one side and “Fear not the Ragnaroken” on the other, to mighty war-hammers and morningstars of unsurpassed quality and strength, to full suits of chain mail whose interlocking rings of crystal or rhokiium had been intricately woven together so tightly that no mortal weapon could ever penetrate their protection.
Yes, these and many more masterpieces of design had the lonely Drokka wrought. Always did he give them away, and never was the receiver disappointed by the priceless gift they received. It was oft said by the Drokka that if a weapon carried the maker’s mark of “Fastuz” upon it, that alone brought magic to its blade.
[Heck, even I picked up a Fastuz blade or two for myself as the years went by – oh, I never actually used them, but I did keep them on display in The Gallery of Unholy Death – they were works of art and fit in well with the whole ‘Death’ motif of my throne room].
So anyway, like I said, I needed someone to make me a big time weapon and I pegged Hef Fastuz for that task. But finding Hef Fastuz was no easy task. He had secluded himself, disillusioned by the politics and greed of his kin. And then there problem was getting him to agree to do it – luckily for me, I’m a master of disguise…
The Apocrypha of Azazel 